Vs
by TurboLoverBOP
Summary: Barbara sends Helena undercover to find out who's behind a plan to rid New Gotham of all Metas.


**Author's note: No copyright infringement is intended. I do not own the characters of Birds of Prey. It's been quite some time since I've written a piece of BoP fan fic so I'm a little rusty. I hope we can spark some new and exciting stories here and keep this show alive in our own little way.** **TL**

**Title: Vs.**

**Rating: R for language and violence.**

--

Working undercover is not one of my specialties, mostly because it involves patience. And patience is something I certainly don't have.

Barbara put me here in an attempt to find out who's behind a crusade to eliminate Metas from New Gotham, but all I've managed to do so far is hang out with a bunch of Meta haters that are just minutes away from getting my boot up their asses.

"Oracle, come in."

:: Go ahead, Huntress. ::

"There's a meeting tonight at a warehouse. I haven't been told the location yet, just that I need to be at the park in fifteen minutes. Not sure what's going down or what it's all about."

:: Okay. Keep your comm on and I'll track you. Please be careful. ::

"You know I will be," I say sarcastically before I dash off into the night.

When I get to the park, there are four others there from my group. Meat is this massive guy with a big everything except for his brain. Then we have Diamond who is a scrawny little bitch that I could easily snap in half just by staring too hard, but she's borderline psychotic and would probably stop at nothing to take someone out. Jake is...well...not sure why he's here. I think he might still live with his mother in the basement. And then there's Bones. He's the one I keep a close eye on because he's got dangerous written all over him. He's a bike-loving tough guy that has those devilish eyes that run a chill down your spine.

"Kyle," Bones says to me as he reaches out and slaps me on the back.

"Where we going? Anyone know?" I ask.

Bones gives me that look and then steps closer towards me. I can smell the stale odor of Jack Daniels on his breath. "Why you so inquisitive?"

:: Easy, Huntress. :: I hear Barbara warning me in my ear. I hate it when she does that when I'm trying to concentrate. Little does she know that it only fuels my fire.

"I'm just curious. For weeks now we've been waiting around for 'someone' to meet with us, then we're told to come here so that 'someone' can pick us up and bring us to some warehouse rather than getting the..."

Bones grabs me and puts his arm around my neck, pressing a gun to the side of my head. "You have way too many questions, Kyle. You've had a lot of them since you joined up with us. You're making me worry about you."

"Easy, man. Back off. You don't have to worry about me, we're on the same page." I tried to sound convincing when in reality all I wanted to do was spin around, grab his gun and shoot his balls off.

He shoved me forward as he tucked the gun away in the waistband of his jeans. "I'm keeping my eye on you, Kyle."

Before I could answer him, a black van pulled up and we were instructed by a masked man to get inside. The windows were tinted so dark we couldn't see out so I had no idea where we were going.

:: I'm tracking your signal. ::

In a way it relieved me to hear that.

We soon came to a stop and we were ushered into a large warehouse full of crates, vans, and all sorts of things.

"Welcome," a woman said as she stepped out of the shadows. I have to admit that I was shocked to hear a woman's voice. She was short, dressed like business woman and if I had to guess her age I'd have to say late forties."First of all, thank you for being the first to step up to this problem that we have facing us."

"Problem?" I ask. The words flew out of my mouth before I could even stop myself.

:: Huntress::

She walked up to me and looked me up and down. "You must be Kyle. Bones has told me all about you. You're a feisty little thing, aren't you?" I did all I could not to answer with a smart-ass comment. "What you see around you is the beginning of the end for the Metas in New Gotham. We have just about everything we need to take them on and rid these streets of these wild creatures."

_"Oh no she didn't_," I thought to myself. I recalled the first time I'd heard that statement coming from Reese and how mad it made me, only this time it was turned up ten notches.

"Your mission is to recruit new members, educate them about the dangers of these Metas and arm them with the necessary weapons they will need in order to join us." I take a deep breath and put my head down as I feel my eyes turn. "Kyle?"

I take another moment before I look up at her - my eyes back to their original blue. "I'm fine. Just angry at all these crazy Metas running around." My God. I almost wanted to throw up right then and there after I said it. Even though I didn't mean it, it still felt like shit to have to pretend.

For the next half hour she showed us around. Crates full of automatic weapons, grenades, knives, arrows, you name it. "We're fucked," I mumbled softly into my comm.

:: We need to shut them down before the grow too large or else you're right, we're fucked. ::

"Kyle, dear. Come here." I walked over to where the Ice Princess was standing and she had this obnoxious smile on her face. "I think this is perfect for you. What do you think?"

I looked over and she was referring to a black motorcycle. I nodded in agreement. "I think I could handle that."

"Climb on and see how she feels." She was as giddy as a school girl.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bones watching my every move. "What's the matter? Jealous?" I asked him with a lopsided grin. He flipped me off in return.

"Don't pay any attention to him, he's getting the black Hummer so he'll be plenty satisfied."

After we were each given our toys to play with, we gathered back into the middle of the room. I couldn't help but feel like being part of a cult.

"Enjoy your new gifts as they are a thank you for taking part in this effort and leading the way to a Meta-free city!"

"So if we ride out of here that means we know where this place is," I comment and wait to be reprimanded for my boldness. She comes over to me and runs a finger under my jawline. It distracts me enough that I don't feel one of her sidekicks come up behind me and shoot me in the back of my neck with some sort of something. "What the fuck?" I gasp as I rub my neck.

"It's a tracking device. And the great news is that you all get them! Bruno, if you would." She motioned towards the others and he went for Jake first.

"Oh no, no way in hell you're sticking that in me!" Jake said nervously as he tried to back away.

"Jake, you can't play with us if you don't play along."

"I...I don't care...I...I don't want it." He was on the verge of tears at this point, but Bruno didn't care and shot him with it anyway. "No!!!" Jake screamed as he crawled into a ball on the floor.

"In case anyone wants to try anything funny, I'll know where to find you. In fact, I'll know where you are at all times so keep that in mind." She straightened out her jacket and put on a pair of leather gloves. "Now, your job is to recruit more members for our group. And I must stress that it is imperative that you be selective. Whomever you bring in is a reflection of you and if they do not prove to be worthy enough of this mission then you will suffer along with them." She spread her arms out and spun around. "Everything in this warehouse is available to you in order to do your jobs, but you must prove yourself to me in order to continue being a part of this team. And to do that you must bring me the dead body of a Meta within the next 24 hours." I felt my fists begin to clench and my blood begin to boil. "Once you do that, then I know you're right for our team. Afterwards, each time you bring in a dead Meta you will be rewarded...handsomely. The same holds true for the people you bring in. The more people you recruit that turn out to be team players will result in a bonus for you."

I looked around at the others and they were almost salivating at the idea of getting money or whatever the reward was for killing an innocent Meta.

:: I can't believe I'm hearing what I'm hearing. ::

I wanted to respond in the worst way, but I kept strong and swallowed down the raging ball of anger that swirled inside me.

:: Once you're out of the warehouse I'm going to scan you to see what type of device she implanted in you. Stand by. ::

She handed each of us a cell phone. "We'll contact each other through these phones and ONLY these phones. You DO NOT come to this warehouse unless you have a recruit or a kill and have been given my okay to come here, understand?" Everyone nodded but me. "Kyle?" For some reason my head wouldn't move. She walked up in my face. "Understand? Or do I need to help you?"

"I get it."

"Good," she said as she patted me roughly on the cheek. "Now let's get out there! I'll be in touch with everyone shortly to check on your progress."

I swung my leg over the bike and sat down on the soft leather seat. "So what made you start up this us versus them sorta gig?"

"Let's just say that a Meta took away someone I loved dearly. I wasn't able to make that freak pay for what he did but I will make his kind pay because let's face it...they're all the same."

I huffed and put my helmet on. I needed to get out of their fast because the sight of her was making my stomach turn. I started it up, revved it a few times and then peeled out of the warehouse. I can only imagine what was said about me after I left.

"I'm out of the warehouse."

:: Okay, starting the scan now. You okay::

"To be honest, no...I'm not. I didn't realize what I'd gotten into. God I want to hit something right about now!"

:: I had no idea anything like this was going to take place. I'm sorry. ::

"Where have I heard that before?" I was a little angered at the fact that she'd sent me out on another mission that was deeper than she anticipated. Maybe I assume to much since she'd been at this a lot longer than I have and I trust her to know everything. "I guess I'm kinda on my own with this one since I can't come back to the Clocktower or else she'll see where I'm going."

:: You're NOT alone in this! I would never do that to you. We'll...we'll figure it out. ::

"We better figure it out fast because somehow I'm supposed to deliver a dead Meta in 24 hours and since I have no intention of doing so I will be the dead Meta."

I heard Barbara sigh in a way she does when things are pretty bad. So bad that she ignored my comment. :: It's just a simple tracker, nothing fancy. Looks kind of amateur considering the type of operation she's running. ::

"I don't think she's reporting to anyone, I think this is her show. She was dressed in a business suit which says to me that she's in charge. Given her revenge story I'd say that she wants all the credit for this one and isn't sharing."

:: We need to put this fire out before it gets out of control. I got some voice recordings over your comm so I'm going to run them through my voice recognition database to see if I can get a hit on who she is. ::

"In the meantime, I guess I'm gonna head to my apartment and..." the loud roar of an engine interrupted me as I heard it coming up behind me. Looking back, I saw the bright lights of a Hummer. "Shit. I've got trouble."

:: What's wrong::

I couldn't answer her because all of my attention was focused on not getting steamrollered by his Hummer. He pulled up along side of me and rolled his window down, "I'm warning you. Stay out of my way, Kyle."

I flipped him off instead of making a comment because he probably wouldn't be able to hear me if I attempted to yell with this helmet on, plus I didn't want to listen to Barbara telling me how I needed to watch my mouth.

"You better watch your back!" he yelled before speeding away.

:: What's that all about::

"Eh, that was Bones. He's just threatening me is all. I can handle him."

:: Don't pick any fights with anyone, stay focused on the mission, please. ::

"Ya know, I'm really not in the mood for a speech so I think this is where I say good night. Good night!" I turned my comm off and headed home.

- -

I woke up the next morning to the sound of the cell phone going off. I leaned over the bed and grabbed it where it was lying on the floor. "Hello?"

"Kyle? I'm sitting here watching your little dot on my screen and it hasn't moved all morning. You do realize that you now only have 12 hours left, right?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Kyle. Kyle. Klye. I'm not sure this is going to work out. I mean, your enthusiasm leaves little to be desired. But I'll give you your 12 hours to impress me, that was our deal."

"Look, you have your way of doing things and I have mine."

"Well, maybe it would motivate you to know that Bones has already brought in his first."

I bolted upright. "First?"

"Kill."

I shut my eyes and found myself holding my breath.

"And such a young one too. Blonde, blue eyes. Such a shame she had to die but it's worse that she had to endure being a meta."

I hung up the phone and threw it across the room, then I switched on my comm. "Oracle? Oracle, come in!" I got dressed and ran outside to my bike.

:: I'm here. ::

"Where's Canary?"

:: You know where she is every morning. ::

"Are you sure?"

:: Why::

"Check on her. Check and make sure she's there." I didn't want to explain because I didn't want to say it, plus I didn't know if it was her. I got on my bike and waited for Barbara to check.

:: I can't do it now because my class is... ::

"Do it NOW!"

:: Okay. Okay. ::

I started up my bike and hoped I'd hear what I wanted to hear.

:: She...she's not here. ::

"Fuck!" I yelled as my back tire spun when I revved the bike.

:: What's going on::

"Keep checking, maybe one of her friends have seen her. Ask Gabby if she's seen her. Ask anyone!"

:: Huntress, you're scaring me. ::

"Maybe she skipped class and is at No Man's Land. Call Gibson."

:: Where are you::

"On my way to the warehouse."

:: No! You can't go there until later. We haven't talked about our plan. You turned your comm off and I haven't been able to contact you to tell you what we need to do::

"There's no time for plan A, I need to go with plan B."

:: What's plan B::

"Kicking someone's ass. Now check with her friends and get back to me."

:: Don't do this. ::

I didn't answer her because there was nothing she could say right now that was going to change my mind.

I drove up to the warehouse and kicked the side entrance door in. When I got to the main room I found the Ice Princess standing there with Bones and the body was lying on the floor covered in a blue tarp. "Get away from her!" I seethed.

"Kyle? You have no permission to be here."

"Fuck your permission and I said get away from her."

Bones turned towards me, "Don't get all pissy because I beat you to it. I've had my eye on this little prize for a while."

My self control turned off and I lashed out at him, striking him in the throat with my fist and sending him flying across the room. Then I turned my attention to her. "Now it's your turn, bitch."

"I don't think so," she answered as she went for a gun but I was quick to stop her. I reached out and grabbed her wrist, twisting it around and smiling as I heard the bones snap.

I didn't have much time to enjoy her pain because Bones grabbed me from behind and had me in a bear hug, but not for long because I snapped my head backwards and caught him square in the nose. He let go of me and I kicked him in the stomach with all my might. Blood poured from his nose and that seemed to occupy him for the moment.

She was going for the gun but I easily kicked it away and brought my boot down on the side of her neck, pinning her down. "You have to be one of the poorest excuses for a human being that I've ever met."

:: Huntress::

"Let go of me! You'll infect me with your Meta disease!" she pleaded.

"Oh yeah, now I'll let you go after you said that. I don't think so!" I pressed down harder and felt her struggling for air.

:: Huntress, don't::

WHAM!!

I felt a tremendous force come in contact with my back, enough to make me stumble and nearly topple over. When I turned around, I saw Bones standing there with a two by four. I snarled at him, "A shitload of weapons and all you've got is a measly piece of wood? You're pathetic."

"I don't want to kill you just yet. I want to make sure you suffer for a while."

I punched him in the side of the neck and then kicked him behind his knee, knocking him to the floor. Another swift kick to the back of his head brought him all the way down. I went over to the tarp and pulled it off, gasping at the sight of the long blonde hair. I rolled her body over.

:: Huntress. She was with Gabby. You were right, they skipped class.::

I gulped down a swallow as I heard what she said at the same time I saw the girl's face. "Fuck," I mumbled, realizing that I just blew this whole mission. Not only that...I needed to get the hell out of here. And I wasted no time in doing it.

Bones got to his feet just as I ran out the door. I could hear him yelling. "I'll kill you, you worthless Meta!"

I got on the bike and took off as he started firing at me. Zig zagging all over kept me out of the path of the bullets...for now.

I sped down the street, feeling the cool night air blowing through my jacket, and for a moment I lost myself in thought. But it was the sound of metal on metal that snapped me out of it. Bullets were hitting my bike and I could hear the Hummer behind me. I sped up but the bullets continued to fly towards me. "Oracle! Come in!"

:: Go ahead. ::

"Just listen to me and save the comments and questions for later. I'm trying real hard not to get killed right now. Meet me at my father's house as fast as you can. Go to the cave entrance and open the door half way. As soon as I'm in, shut it and put everything on lockdown. Just make sure you're out of the way when I come in because I'm coming in hard and fast."

:: But.. ::

"Do it!!" I screamed as I tried to dodge the bullets that were coming way too close for comfort.

:: Meet you there in twenty. ::

"I don't have twenty, make it ten!"

She didn't answer and I could only assume she was doing whatever it took to get over to Wayne Manor.

The ride to the Manor felt like it was taking hours. The rain of bullets finally stopped about a mile and a half back and I could see the entrance to the cave just ahead of me. The door was closed but I was hauling ass down the street. "Open it!!"

It didn't open and I almost felt myself want to cry, but suddenly it started to open just as I hit the edge of the driveway. In order to make it in, I leaned to my left and got the bike on it's side, sliding in like a baseball player sliding into homeplate.

I was going so fast I traveled the entire length of the long garage and slammed up against the wall. The adrenaline rushing through my veins got me up on my feet, ignoring any sort of trauma or pain my body was feeling. I tore the helmet off and tossed it on the floor as Barbara sped towards me. "We need to get underground, that should kill the tracker."

"I'll take the fast way, meet you down there." I slid down the pole and got to the large steel doors. I entered my password and scanned my eye. The doors opened and I quickly went inside and went for the weapons room that was next to the computer room.

Barbara soon entered the room and immediately took her spot next to the surveillance screens. "We're safe down here until we figure out a plan. You mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

I looked all around the room at what we had to work with. My mind raced and my body was lit up with adrenaline. "I know we have enough to fend them off. My father may not have been in favor of killing but he was in favor of defense." I opened up the gun cabinet and reached in, but when I did I felt a burning pain on my left side. Looking down I saw red droplets on the floor by my feet and my left hand was covered with blood. "Ah dammit," I swore aloud.

"What?" Barbara asked as she continued her assessment of the manor's grounds.

"Nothing." I came over to the table and placed the guns down. Then a wave of dizziness hit me as the pain kicked in. I leaned on the table support and lowered my head as I tried to control it.

"I don't see anyone outside. You must have lost them...Helena?" Barbara called out to me, obviously noticing that something was up.

"What?" I said softly. Not that I didn't know why she was calling my name, but for some reason I didn't want to face reality at the moment.

Barbara sped over to me. "Are you okay?"

I waved her off, "It's nothing, we have more important things to worry about right now." I moved away from her, not allowing her the chance to look me over. "Bones probably went back to get the others and..."

"Oh God, you're bleeding!"

I loaded the guns with ammo and tried to mask the pain I was in so perhaps she'd believe me that it wasn't as bad as she thought it was. "Yeah, I know. Look, you can't fight them alone. You need my help. I've already screwed this all up and now I need to fix it."

"Stop it, Helena. Put the guns down and let me help you."

I thought about it for a moment. "How about this...we take care of business and then you can stitch me up and do whatever you want. Hell, you can even poke me with a needle if you want to."

"You know we can't do that. If that blood is coming from where I think it's coming from then you need to let me take the bullet out or else you risk infection or having the bullet do more damage. I can't have you running around out there and..."

"Why bother. I could get shot again when I go out there. Might as well do them all at once."

She grabbed me by the wrist and squeezed, "Don't you even joke about it. Now you sit down and let me do what I need to do." I put the guns down on the table and sat down in the chair like a child that just got punished. "And you're not using those guns either."

"Barbara! If you saw the amount of weapons they have you wouldn't be saying that."

"End of discussion! Now get your jacket off."

I wriggled out of my jacket and hissed in pain as the wound burned. Shoulder wounds always sucked. "What did you say to Dinah for skipping?" I asked as she tore my shirt and began sopping up the blood.

"Dinah is not a topic up for discussion right now."

"I'm just trying to make small talk while you're shoving a pair of tweezers in there."

"Just focus on something else. Besides Bones, what are we looking at?"

"Four, but that's if they haven't added some new editions to the family that I'm not aware...OWW!!"

"Got it!" She tossed the bullet in a little metal tray and immediately covered the wound with a wad of gauze.

"Shit that hurts! "

"Let me stitch it up and..."

"Just put duct tape on it or something, we need to get out there we're wasting time."

"Helena, be quiet and let me do it. We'll worry about it being neat later because I can bet you'll tear it up anyway."

"Fine. Fine. Just do it and get it over with." I stayed as silent as a church mouse the entire time she stitched me up and when she was done I put my jacket back on, despite it being full of blood. I honestly felt like it didn't matter because whenever we went up against someone that used weapons I couldn't help but feel outnumbered, even if it was one-on-one. I may be half Meta, but that doesn't mean I can't die. And despite what Barbara thinks, it's something that I think about a lot.

"I know it's pointless to say this but try not to use your left arm so much. The bullet may not have been in that deep but it's still a bullet wound."

"You're right, it's pointless. We need to get to the warehouse." While she wasn't looking I grabbed one of the guns and tucked it in the waistband of my pants.

"One more thing before we go. Come here." Barbara motioned for me to turn around and I thought for a moment that she was going to yank the gun out of my pants but she put something cold against the back of my neck. "I disabled the tracking device. We'll worry about getting it out later."

We headed straight for the elevator and wasted no time in getting back up to the garage. "I think it's safe to say that my bike is trashed so I think I'll have to hitch a ride with you."

"I've sent the coordinates of the warehouse to the Hummer's computer and copied the coding of your tracking device. I managed to mimic the chip from the processor..."

"Barbara! English, please."

"Sorry, right. If the others have the tracking device then I should be able to find them on the map." She got behind the wheel and I slid into the passenger's seat. "They'll come up as red dots over here."

We both watched the small screen and immediately saw three red dots in the area of the warehouse. "Three? There should be more than that. You sure this thing is right," I asked as I activated the door to the garage.

Barbara chewed on her thumbnail for a moment. "It should be accurate. I tried it last night and I had your device come up."

"Whatever. We'll have to figure it out as we go along."

"Hold on," Barbara said as she stomped on the gas and flew out of the garage like a, pun intended, bat out of hell. I don't think I've ever been launched at that speed with her behind the wheel.

We pulled up near the warehouse and could see from the computer that the three people were inside the building. "You stay here in the car."

As I was about to get out, she grabbed the arm of my jacket. "No heroics in there. You disable them and I'll contact Reese to come pick them up. If you get into any, and I mean even the slightest bit of trouble you tell me. I want your comm on at all times, got it?"

"Alright. Alright. Geesh." I got out of the Hummer and made my way over to the side of the warehouse. I scaled the side of it with ease and got onto the rooftop. I found a skylight and peered down inside. There was Jake, Diamond, Meat, the Ice Princess and two bodies lying next to them. Suddenly, she pulled a gun on Jake and shot him.

:: Huntress::

"I'm here. She just killed Jake."

BLAM!

:: What's going on over there::

"She just killed Meat! I need to go in for a better look so I can find out what's going on."

:: Huntress, don't... ::

I tend not to listen to Barbara sometimes, which isn't a surprise to many. I took a deep breath, jumped upwards and plunged myself right through the glass window of the skylight. I came down hard on my feet as glass shattered all around me, sending the Ice Bitch ducking for cover. "I don't mean to be a party pooper but this party's over." I kicked outward and caught Diamond right in the mouth. She flew sideways and landed in a heap by some cardboard boxes. Then I turned toward the bitch, my eyes turning into catlike slits. "Now it's your turn."

She aimed her gun at me. "I thought I told Bones to take care of your sorry ass. Oh well, that's what I get for asking a man to do a woman's job."

She pulled the trigger but I leaped out of the way. I could feel the heat of the bullet as it sped past my head. I tucked and rolled and took out the gun from behind my back and aimed it at her as I stood up. "For someone dressed all neat and clean you play awfully dirty."

"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment."

We stood there with a gun in each other's face for what had to be five or so minutes, but things started to get interesting as I saw a smile forming on her face.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" I heard Bones' voice say from the shadows. He stepped towards us, a gun aimed at me as well. "Kyle. I thought I'd killed you."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

:: Bones is there?!? I...I don't...I only see one red dot on the screen now and it's not moving. ::

"You and I need to have some alone time to work out our differences," he said as he glared at me. Before I could say a word, he turned his gun in her direction and shot her right in the heart. She flopped to the ground as a pool of blood grew all around her. "Now, let's see if we can hash this out just you and me."

:: Huntress::

"Not now," I whispered.

He put his gun away and put his hands out by his sides. "Let's fight hand-to-hand for a while." He licked his lips like a Tiger eyeing a piece of meat.

"Okay," I said as I put my gun away as well. He was the first to lash out at me, going right for my temple with his fist, but I caught it and squeezed. He yelped and cursed. "Aw, big boy cries like a little girl," I taunted.

"Fuck you, Kyle!" he swiped his leg towards me and hooked his foot around mine, taking my feet out from under me and sending me crashing down on my wounded shoulder. Stars swirled above my head and it must have been pretty obvious. "Aw, someone got a boo boo?" he taunted back as he grabbed my shoulder and dug his thumb into my wound.

"Ugh!!" I screamed as I clawed at his wrist. He pulled on my wounded arm, twisted it around and shoved me down to the floor, pinning me and popping my shoulder right out of it's socket. "Fuck!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as pain surged through my system and sent a blinding jolt to my brain.

:: Huntress! Huntress, come in::

I couldn't answer with anything more than a whimper of pain. I was actually pretty disappointed with myself. Here I was all in charge of the situation and all cocky as hell and now I'm lying here gasping in pain because I let some oversized, empty-headed numb nut kick my ass.

"You're no fun," he said as he kicked me in the ribs with his boot, making me beg for air. He squatted down beside me, "So what's your super power, huh, Meta freak? It's obviously not the power of healing because you're bleeding at a good clip."

I finally caught my breath and sat up, coughing a few times as I started to get to my feet. "You don't know anything about Metas."

"Oh yeah I do," he said as he watched me stand up. I swayed a few times and swallowed down the nausea that crept up in my throat. Just when I was ready to go at him again, he drove his fist into my eye and sent me down to the floor again. I felt the warm stream of blood travel down the side of my face. "My brother was a Meta. He killed my parents." Another kick to the ribs. "He went wild like an animal and butchered them." And another. I waited for another one to come but I looked up out of my half-closed eye and saw him blink a few times before he fell to the ground like a tree that had just been cut down. Behind him stood Barbara, holding a bloody Bat-A-Rang.

She awkwardly ran over to me, which indicated to me that she had on her transponder. The one that I told her never to use. But hey, I guess I'm no one to be handing out orders when I don't follow them either. "Helena! Oh God," she sobbed as she sank to her knees beside me.

"Ba..Barbara."

"Shh, it's okay, baby. We need to get out of here though. Reese will be here any minute."

"C...can't...can't walk...hurts," I slurred as I just wanted to pass out and not have to deal with it.

I could see the panic in her eyes. She grabbed my good arm and dragged me out of the warehouse and over to the Hummer. With a quick yank, she got me up enough to get me into the back. Before the door shut I passed out.

- -

"It's about time you woke up," I hear Dinah saying to me as she puts a tray of food down on the nightstand next to me.

"Ugh," I mumble as I try and snap out of the medicated haze. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days." Barbara enters the room and stops next to my bed.

"Two DAYS!" I roll my eyes and attempt to get up but the pain in my shoulder and ribs send me back down with a gasp.

"Uh uh. No moving around for another few days." She reached over and took my wrist into her hand, checking my pulse. "Dinah, can you leave us a lone for a minute?"

"Sure."

Barbara waited for the door to shut before turning back to me and looking me in the eye. "I thought I told you no guns."

"Are you serious? I just woke up after being in la la land for two days and the first thing you mention is the gun?"

"Okay then, maybe we should talk about how I told you to tell me if you ran into trouble. Seeing as you have two broken ribs, a bruised kidney, a black eye, and a dislocated shoulder with a bullet hole in it I think it's safe to say you were in what I consider trouble."

"I got the bullet wound BEFORE we went to the warehouse so that doesn't..."

"Helena!" Her shouting was immediately followed by a quivering lower lip and tears. "If I hadn't come in when I did you'd probably be dead right now! When I saw you lying there, not even able to sit up, it nearly killed me."

"Barbara, I..."

"Don't! Let me finish!" She stopped for a moment and wiped her eyes but more tears replaced the ones that had been wiped away. "During the ride back here to the Clocktower it took every ounce of strength within me to keep it together knowing you were in the back, bleeding and in pain. You'd whimper and moan in pain and it tore my heart out."

Great. Now I started to cry. "I'm sorry."

"You need to stop being sorry, Helena and start being careful!"

"Why did you use your transponder, you..."

"This isn't about me and stop trying to turn the conversation off of you. I did what I had to do to save you."

"I'm sorry. I know I screwed this one up. I was just trying to fix it and take care of it."

"You can't take the world on yourself, Helena. You're not weak by asking for help and you're not weak by saying that you're scared."

I snuffed away the tears and wiped my eyes. "Fine. I was scared, okay. I'm scared anytime guns are involved because I don't feel like it's fair. Everytime we go against someone with a weapon I feel like I could be taking my last breath. I'm out there on the streets staring down the barrel of those guns, you're not. I brought the gun so I could fight fair."

"And look where it got you."

I shook my head in disagreement. "The gun had nothing to do with it. I got my ass handed to me because I too cocky and pushed the limit."

"And because you didn't listen."

"Yes. And I didn't listen."

She took my hand into hers. "Please, Helena. I don't want to be in the position where there's a time when I can't save you. Don't do that to me."

I squeezed her hand. "I will try to listen more and ask for help, but you can't expect a miracle over night."

She smiled quickly and it was incredibly forced. "Okay. Maybe we can talk about this later. I should let you rest." Her chair pivoted and she headed for the door.

"Barbara?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

She smiled more convincingly this time, but her heart was clearly broken.

FIN


End file.
